Apparatus for splicing strip material



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 l oom/N l c. w. LEGUxLLoN ETAL APPARATUS FOR SPLICINGSTRIP MATERIAL Filed Aug. 19, 1.947

Dea 5 i949 c. W. LEGUILLON ETAL 2,490,692

APPARATUS FOR SPLICING STRIP MATERIAL Filed Aug. 19, 19%? Sheets-Shaw, 2

T-7 "c: jm/?? Z255 54555255 'Lgguian ec, 6, i949 c. w LEGUlLLoN ETAL2,496,692

APPARATUS FOR SFLICING STRIP MATERIAL Filed Aug. 19, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet3 5 HEI-H .all El-H Patented Dee. 6, 1949 APPARATUS FOB SPLICING STRIPRIAL HATE

'r OFFICE Charles W. Leguilion, Akron, Ohio. and Frank Slasher.Carpinteria, Calif., assignonfto The B. F. Goodrich Company, New York,yN. Y., a corporation of New York Application Allnet 19, 1947, Serial No.789.414

1s claims. l

This invention relates to apparatus for splicing v the ends of plasticrubber-like strips of material to provide endless bands and theinvention is especially useful in the splicing of tread slabs fo themanufacture of tires.

It is an object of the invention to provide for holding the strip ofmaterial, cutting it to the required length while providing scarfedends, bringing the ends into contact, and firmly pressing the materialat the splice.

More specic objects are to provide for cutting and splicing a tread slabto the desired circumferential length without undesirably stretching orotherwise distorting the slab material, and to provide for effectingthese results at a single station and while the slab is. positioned upona support.

Other objects are to provide for splicing bands of a range ofcircumferences, to provide automatic handling of the strip between thecutting and splicing operations and thereby to avoid contamination byhandling. to provide uniformity of splicing regardless of differences inthickness of the material, and to provide uniformity of circumference ofsuccessive bands at a single adjustment.

These and other objects will appear from the following description andthe accompanying drawings.

Of the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of apparatus con.-

structed in accordance with and embodyingthe invention with theapparatus in cutting position.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. j Fig. 3 is a detail front elevationthereof showing the clamping members with'thescarfed ends of the stripmoved substantially into splicing position. parts being broken away. 'ij Fig. 4 is a detail front elevation thereof inthe splice pressingposition, parts beingv brokenaway.

Fig. 5 is a detail view of timing mechanisrnfor operating the apparatus.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral] vl0 designates a base plate towhich is secured'va frame Il having a vertical guidewaylz` upon which acarriage i3 is mounted for vertical move- It is rotatably mountedinbrackets 2|, 22 on the frame. A pinion 23 is secured to shaft andmeshes with gear il. A handwheel'u is also fixed to the wheel. v'Mountedon the carriage -Il is a double acting fluid pressure operated cylinder'25, the piston 2G of whichY is fixed tothe screw i6. The arrangement issuch thatby rotating handwheel 2l the saddle il may be adjustedvertically to adjust the apparatus fory making bands of differentcircumference', while at each setting, the saddle may be raised andlowered a xed distance for a-r purpose hereinafter described. A-, i f

The invention" contemplates 'the' provision'v of means to clamp the endsof the strip so that they may be trimmed. lFor this purpose a' pair ofhorizontalparallel shafts 30; 3l Aare journaled in the frame andeach`Hasan arm 32 'or Sl'xed thereto. A pair 'of double acting uidpressureoperated cylinders 34.135 are 'pivotally'flnunted -as atlltothe framehave piston yrods 3 8. 39 respectively pivted toarms 32. 18.1 Clamp jaws40:1 l yare fixed lrespectively izpjshia'.fts 3 0, f3 i Clfmrm laws12.141 are movbl'yimelnied .with ifespectfto lows` 40, 14 irespectively, "andv for this'. pur- DOSe, ljaw Q2 `is jpivotallyfmountedv lon aV y shaft M uidpvrated cylinder. '50 isrivtlly mounted.

that eiskalte ust 'clear y'th c1 142 im the @time Stroke.

y, For i wenn l that an medito; Jaw' 4121yr The, iarrahsmm is such,that' (cylinder jill may openA and" close jaws gil, l2 l'regardlessL, ofthe 'rotative Positiglf shaft similarly /pivotedgnshart 4s carried byansi-m 3 Y otherendoftheleverispivotally connected, as at 11, to one endof a lever 05. The other end of the lever is pivotally connected, as at00, to carriage 00.

For trimming the opposite end of the strip, a pair of pedestals such assimilarly support rods |50. |00. IGI and |02 respectively, thearrangement being such that one revolution of the cam 0|, 02 which guidea carriage l2 horisontally. A

second carriage I4 is slideably mounted on carringe 0I for inclinedmovement and carries an electric motor 05 having a circular cutter t0.In its upper position, carriage. I4 is limited by a stop I'I, and afluid 'operated cylinder t8 is provided to move the carriage up and downthe incline in the same manner as the opposite cutter. For controllingtransverse movement of the cutter, a double acting fluid pressureoperated cylinder |00 is secured to pedestal 6|, and its piston rod |l|is secured to carriage t5 to move cutter 00 across the strip. A similarcylinder |02 is provided to move carriage I3 and with it cutter Il.

The arrangement of the clamping jaws on the shafts 30. 2| permits thejaws to be moved 'foward each other by operation of cylinders 3|, 25until the ends of the strip i5 are in contact, as in Fig. 4, the jaws atthis position being backed by a stop |05 von the frame In order toprevent stretching of the strip in accomplishing' such movement of thelaws. the saddle i4 is held by cylinder in its upper position whileclamping of the jaws and cutting of the ends takes place, and the saddleis then lowered in advance of the swinging movement of the jaws toprovide slack in the strip.

The invention includes means for pressing'the abutting scarfed ends ofthe strip and for this purpose a pair of horizontal shafts H0, lli arelived to the frame and upon each shaft are pivotally mounted a pluralityof pressing members Il! (see Pig. 4). Each pressing member isindependent of tbe others, and each has an upwardly directedpresser'foot Il! having a serrated face for contacting the splicedstrip. Each pressing member has a depending leaf spring ||4, and thepressing members on opposite shafts are arranged in intercallatingrelation to each other. Por operating the pressing members, a pair ofdepending arms il! are pivotally mounted on eachshaft H0 andandthepairsofarmsare connected by bars H0, ||1 which engage the freeends of thc Leaf springs. A rock shaft ||0 is journaledinirameandhasapeirofrockerarms il! and a ear |20 fixed thereto. Links |2lconnecttheei softherockerarms Iltfothearms III. The s rangement is suchthat rotation of the rock sha1' through 180 degrees will raise thepresser feet Il: against the splice and due to the leaf spring mountingof the presser feet they will contact the strip regardless of variationin thickness of the strip throughout its width.

For operating the rock shaft |I0, a double act. ing pressure fluidoperated cylinder is fixed tothe frame il and its piston rodisfixedtoarack |2I meshing with gear |20 and guided by a free running roller |22.

While the valves controlling the various fluid operated cylinders may becontrolled by hand. for convenience of operation and to reduce theamount of skill required of the operator. a valve control may beincorporated in the apparatus. For this Purpose. a cam shaft-| isadapted to 'bedrivenbyamotorluthroughaspeedreducer |42, a chain |42, andsprockets |44, |45. A series of cams |40. |41, |40, |40. i, Ill and|52areiixedtothecamshaftsoastocontrol shaft completas a cycle of ,theapparatus. Each valve is connected to a fluid pressure supply line andan exhaust line and its other ports are connected respectively toopposite'ends of the described operating cyiinders by flexible tubing(not shown). Valve |56 controls cylinders 50, in unison. Valve |51controls cylinders 15, 90. |02 and |00 in unison; Valve |58 controlscylinder 25. Valve |50 controls valve cylinder 35. Valve |00 controlscylinder 34. This arrangement of separate valves for cylinders 35 and 34permits raising of jaws 4|, 43 in advance of raising of jaws 40, 42 asshown in Fig. 3 as due to the scarfed arrangement of the ends of thestrips and the jaws, jaws 4|, 43 should be raised ilrst and loweredlast. Valve lil controls cylinder |30. Valve |62 controls a switch whichstops motor |4| to end the cycle. The cam |52 has two humps |10, |1|each of which depresscs valve |62 to-stop motor I4| and with it the camshaft at two positions, one at 290 degrees rotation of the cam shaft andthe other at 360 degrees rotation thereof. At the stopping positions,the motor may be restarted independent of the valve |62 by the operatordepressing a starting button of a manual control switch |12 while thehump of the cam |52 passes the stopping position with respect to thevalve.

Valve |56 in its normal position admits fluid under pressure to the rodends of cylinders 50. 80 holding the clamps open. As the cam lli startsto rotate, it opens the rod ends of these cylinders to exhaust andadmits fluid to the opposite ends of the cylinders to clamp the strip.lClamping is maintained during the first 290 degrees of cam rotation.

Valve |51 in its normal position admits fluid Aunder pressure to the rodends of cylinders |00. |02 to hold carriages Si, 93 in their retractedpostion, and to rod end of cylinder ll and the head end of cylinder 1Sto hold the knife blades in a non-cutting position. Upon degreesrotation of cam |41 from starting position the connections to thesecylinders are reversed to advance the cutters across the strip with theblade in the full line position of Fig. 1 and after 185 degrees of camrotation, the cutters are returned to their normal positions.

Valve |50 in its normal position admits fluid to the upper or rod end ofcylinder 2i to hold the saddle in raised position. Upon rotation of cam|40 through 30 degrees from starting position. valve |58 admits iluid tothe opposite end of cylinder 25 to lower the saddle. This continuesuntil the cam has travelled 340 degrees whereupon it raises the saddle.

7o the lowered position of Fig. 1. At 215 degrees of Valve |50 in itsnormal position admits fluid to the lower end of cylinder 35 holdingclamp jaws 4|, 43 vertical. At 190 degrees of rotation of cam |40 fromstarting position valve |59 admits iluid to the upper end of cylinder 35to rotate jaws 4|, 43 to the splicing position of Fig. 3. and at 340degrees of cam rotation returnsthe jaws to vertical position.

Valve |01 normally admits fluid to the rod end of cylinder |30 to holdthe pressing members in rotation of cam III from starting position valvel is recessed, admitting fluid to the opposite end of cylinder l and at290 degrees of rotation the valve is released and returm the pressing 7smembers to their lowered position.

gether the overlapping Theoperationoftheappsrstusisasfollows:

With the motor I not l'lilininl. the saddle Ill is in its raisedposition, the splicing members lit are in loweredposltion. the cuttersil. It are in their lowered dotted line positions. the clampingjaws arevertical and open. and the carriages 68, 98 are retracted. The operatorhangs a strip I5 of material across he saddle with its ends hangingbetween clamping jaws. After starting motors 81, 96 the operator pressesthe starting button or switch |12. Thereafter motor lli starts rotatingcam shaft llt. First the clamp jaws Ill. 42 and Il, I are closed againstthe strip, then the cutters 6I. 9| are raised and traverse the striptrimming the ends and return to their original positions, then thesaddle I4 is lowered. Next the jaws swing to splicing position, jaws 4i,43 slightly in advance of jaws 40, 42. Next the pressing members Il! arepressed against the spliced material and then lowered. At this positionclamps 40, Il, l2, 43 open and the apparatus stops. The operator thenremoves a spliced band and presses the starting button a second time,whereupon the cam shaft continues rotation, the parts are returned totheir normal positions and the apparatus again stops ready for insertionor another strip.

Variations may be made without departing from the scope of the inventionas itis defined by the following claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for splicing a strip of plastic material to provide anendless band. said apparatus comprising means for holding opposite endsof a strip with said ends out of alignment, means for trimming the stripat the held ends, means for swinging the held ends of the trimmed stripinto alignment with each other and for splicing the same.

2. Apparatus yfor splicing a strip of plastic material to provide anendless band, said apparatus comprising means for holding opposite endsof a strip, means inclined relative to the strip for trimming the endsof the strip to provide scarred ends. means for moving said ends intooverlapping abutting relation, and means for pressing together theoverlapped portions to splice the Same.

3. Apparatus for splicing a strip of plastic material to provide anendless band, said apparatus comprising means for supporting the stripwith its ends downwardly depending, means for clamping the dependingends or the strip, meansl inclined relative to the clamped ends fortrimming the ends of the strip to provide scarred portions, means forswinging the clamping means with the scarred ends of the strip intooverlapping abutting relation, and means for pressing toends of thestrip to splice the same.

4. Apparatus for splicing a strip of plastic mal relation across thewidth of the amm arranged in iuxtapoeed strip.

6. Apparatus for splicing a strip of plastic material to provide anendless band. said apparatus 6 spring tensioned nngers comprising pairsor clamping jaws for receiving end potrions or a strip extendingtherethrough. means for clamping said jaws upon said end portions. meansfor severing the ends of the strip terial to provide an endless band,said apparatus comprising means for supporting the strip with its endsdownwardly depending. means/ tor clamping the depending ends of thestrip. means for trimming the ends of the strip to provide scarredportions, means for lowering the supporting means relative to theclamping means to avoid tension in the strip, means for moving theclamping means with the scarred ends of the strip into overlappingabutting relation, and means for pressing together the overlapping `endsof the strip to splice the same.

5. Apparatus as defined by claim 2 in which said pressing meanscomprises a plurality or tions, means for severing the ends of at saidjaws to provide scarred ends. means for moving the clamped jaws with theends of the strips to abut said scarred ends in overlapping relation,and means for applying pressure to the overlapping ends in a directionnormal to a face of the strip. f

7. Apparatus for splicing a strip of plastic material to provide anendless band, said apparatus comprising pairs of clamping jaws forreceiving end portions of a strip extending therethrough, means forclamping said jaws upon said end portions, means for severing the endsof the strip at said jaws to provide scarred ends, means for rotatablymoving said pairs or jaws toward each other to abut said scarred ends inoverlapping relation, and means for applying pressure to the overlappingends in a direction normal to a face or the strip.

8. Apparatus for splicing a strip or plastic material toprovide anendless band, said apparatus comprising pairs of clamping jaws forreceiving end portions of a strip extending therethrough,

means for clamping said jaws upon said end por.

tions, means for severing the ends of the strip at said jaws to providescarred ends. means for rotatably moving said pairs of jaws toward eachother to abut said scarred ends in overlapping relation. and means forapplying pressure to the overlapping ends in a direction normal to aface of the strip, said pressing means comprising a plurality ofindividually spring pressed fingers in juxtaposed relation with eachother across a face of the strip, and means for forcing them against thestrip as a group.

9. Apparatus for splicing a strip of plastic material to provide anendless band. said apparatus comrising pairs or clamping jaws forreceiving end portions of a strip extending therethrough, means forclamping said jaws upon said end porthe strip at said jaws to providescarred ends, means for rotatably moving said pairs or jaws toward eachother to abut said scarred ends in overlapping relation. pressing meansfor applying pressure to the overlapping ends in a direction normal to aface of the strip, said pressing means comprising a plurality ofindividually spring pressed lingers in juxtaposed relation with face orthe strip, and means for forcing them against the strip as a group, saidfingers having serrated pressing faces for engaging the splicedmaterial.

10. Apparatus for splicing a tread slab to provide an endless treadband. said apparatus comprising means for supporting the slabintermediate the ends thereof and with the ends or the slab dependingdownward, means for individually gripping the depending en means fortreating the depending ends of the slab while they are held by saidgripping means, and means for swinging said gripping means inwardlytoward 7n one another and for splicing said ends together.

11. Apparatusl for splicing a tread slab to provide an endless treadband, said apparatus comprising means comprising a curvilinear surfacefor supporting the slab with the ends thereof downwardly depending, andmeans for individ- \each other across a.

:Mmmm

1 ual!!itiidxxwviugsaidendsoftlaeslal:4 mwardlytowardoneanotherandforsplicingthe .12. Apparatus for manipulating astrip of plastie material. said apparatus comprising means for saidstrip intermediate the ends thereof with said ends depending downward.and means for individually gripping and moving anendinwardlytowardtheotherendintojuxtaposition therewith.

13. Apparatus for manipulating a ship of plastie material, saidapparatus comprising means for supporting said strip intermediate theends thereof with said ends depending downward, and means forindividually gripping and moving the ends thereof toward each other intojuxtapomtion with each other. A

14. Apparatus for manipulating a strip of piastic material, saidapparatus comprising means for supporting said strip intermediate theends thereof with its ends in substantially parallel relation. and meansfor individually gripping and moving the ends thereof toward each otherinto juxtaposition with each other.

15. Apparatus for manipulating a strip of plas- 25 tic material, saidapparatus oomprising means for relieve said strip from tension.

CHARLES W. LEGUILUDN. FRANK SLUSHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille ofthis patent: f

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,041,201 Turner Oct. 15, 19122,389,725 Gillis L... Nov. 27, 1945

